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Inside-Out Apple Pie à la Mode

The contrasts in both temperature and texture—from the crunchy crust, to the cold ice cream, to the warm apples—put this ice cream pie in a class all its own. And, believe it or not, all the components can be made in advance, so all you have to do is simply warm up the apples when you're ready to serve. If you or someone you're serving has a nut allergy, 1/2 cup more oats can be substituted for the pecans in the crust.

Note that if you put all the warm apples on top of the ice cream pie, you will end up with a big mess. I suggest cutting the pie into pieces and serving each with an individual scoop of warm apples. Alternatively, you can serve the sautéed apples at room temperature, which will keep the ice cream from melting so quickly.

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Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

To make the crust, stir together the oats, pecans, muscovado sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan and bake until toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and use the back of a spoon to push the crust back up the sides, as it will have fallen a bit, and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow it to soften for about 10 minutes. Scoop the ice cream into the pie shell and spread it in an even layer. I find this works best by using a large spoon and dipping it in warm water every so often to help spread the ice cream out flat. Put the pie back in the freezer to firm up for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days, placing a piece of plastic wrap on top if you'll be freezing it for more than a few hours.

To make the topping, melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Add the apple slices and sauté until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the muscovado sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla and continue cooking until a sauce forms, another 2 minutes.

Remove the ice cream pie from the freezer, cut into six pieces, wiping off your knife between each slice, and spoon the warm apples on top of each slice. Alternatively, let the apples cool to room temperature and then pile them onto the ice cream pie before cutting into serving pieces. Garnish with the pecans or granola and serve immediately.

Sara Forte discovered a love for whole foods when she volunteered at an organic farm while working toward her English degree at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. The interest led to an internship in Italy at a bed-and-breakfast and cooking school, jobs at a few different markets, and eventually a food blog, Sprouted Kitchen (sproutedkitchen.com), that she produces with her husband, Hugh. She writes recipes and stories about life while he documents their whole food approach to eating well. Her work has been featured in InStyle, Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset, Fine Cooking, The Kitchen, Etsy, Food 52, and EcoSalon. The Sprouted Kitchen was a recent finalist in Saveur's Best Food Blog Awards for Best Food Photography. Sara continues to freelance in recipe development and take on small catering jobs on the side. They currently live in Dana Point, California, working, eating, and inspiring people to cook fresh, real food.

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Recent Reviews

i reviewed this the first time i made it, in 2012, and have made it several times since. checking back in to note that today, i messed with the original and it is fun that way, too. i didn't have enough muscovado sugar so i used half dark brown. had a big thing of quick oats in the house and no rolled, so subbed those. i think if anything, the crust is a little more manageable with them (although slightly less healthful - but hey, it is a piecrust, after all). and because it's labor day, i swapped peaches and blueberries for the apples. (i halved the cinnamon in both the crust and the topping but left everything else the same.) forgiving, flexible, and fun recipe.

actionpash /

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I really liked the components of this - the crust was great, in fact, and I will be trying to come up with a way to use it for something else... but the lower rating is for the fact that I felt that the proportions were off: too much ice cream, not enough pie.

lnitsa from Brussels, BE /

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This is my new favorite apple pie! It was so easy to make, and can be done ahead so no day of worry. I used walnuts instead of pecans because I don't like them. I also added a little nutmeg and clove to the apples. Good quality ice cream is a must, but I would recommend sticking with vanilla. The crust is too delicious to add more flavors. Parchment paper in the base of the pan helps to remove the slices more easily. And as another user suggested, dipping the dish in hot water is very helpful. A real keeper, I can't wait for another reason to make this pie!

smcdonaldmd from San Francisco, CA /

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This recipe is as amazingly wonderful as it is easy to make! HOWEVER, the comments about "fighting with the crust" are spot on. Seems like half the crust was stuck to the glass pie dish. Next time I'm either going to butter the bottom & sides of the dish 1st, or try using a Teflon pie plate. Also, I couldn't find muscovado sugar, so I googled what was a good substitute and used turbinado sugar mixed with molasses. All in all, this is awesome, a really good Vanilla Bean ice cream is a must.....my husband who is NOT a dessert lover asked for seconds......oops! All gone!

Squawmom from San Diego, Ca /

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OMG this is so good! I did it dairy free using coconut ice cream...delicious. The crust behaved for me. Quite possibly the only way I'll make apple pie from here on out.